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WASHINGTON  :  GOVERNMENT  PRINTI  NO  OFFICE  :  1920 


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%  Report  to  tije  ^ecretarp  of  War 


. . .  on  . . . 


American  jftlilttarp  Beab  <0uer£easi 


RALPH  HAYES 
WASHINGTON 

MAY     11,    I 'i2ii 


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GIFT 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL  AND  REPLY. 


Washington,  I).  C,  May  12,  1920. 
The  Honorable  the  Secretary  of  War. 

Sir:  Pursuant  to  your  instructions  of  February  13,  1920,  to  assist 
in  effecting  a  Franco-American  agreement  on  repatriating  our  mili- 
tary dead  and  to  suggest  those  burial  places  most  suitable  for  perma- 
nent retention.  I  sailed  for  Europe  on  February  19,  returned  to 
America  on  April  30,  and  present  herewith  an  informal  report. 
Respectfully  yours, 

Ralph  Hayes, 
Assistant  to  the  Secretary  of   War. 


W  A  R    1 )  E  PA  RT  M  E  X  T . 

Washington,  M<>>/  20,  1920. 
Mr.  Hayes  : 

The  recommendations  in  this  report,  numbered  1  to  7.  are  hereby 
approved,  with  the  reservation  that  the  permanence  of  the  cemetery 
at  Bony  will  be  determined  later,  when  we  have  accurate  informa- 
tion as  to  the  number  of  soldier  dead  associated  with  British  mili- 
tary operations  to  be  retained  in  Europe. 

I  direct  that  this  report  be  published  immediately,  in  convenient 
form  for  distribution  to  the  relatives  and  friends  of  our  soldier  dead 
abroad,  in  order  that  an  accurate  and  detailed  picture  of  all  the 
conditions  may  be  fully  known  to  them. 

Newton  D.  Baker, 

St  cretary  of  War. 


4I79GG 


BURIAL   PLACES  OF  AMERICAN    MILITARY   DEAD 
NOW    IN    FRANCE 


BELLEAU  WOODS     ^^fOf1     / 


SOUS 

VER01*-  momfauco* 

ST.MLMtL  I 


\} 


^ 


X 


THE  THREE   PROPOSED    PERMANENT  CEMETERIES   FOR 
AMERICAN    MILITARY   DEAD    IN    FRANCE 


CONTENTS. 


1.  Wab  Depabtment's  Policy  Regarding  Return  of  Military  Remains. 

2.  Public  Opinion  on  the  Disposition  of  Military  Remains. 

3.  Franco-American  Negotiations,  Jltne,  1918-Febbuaby,  1920. 

4.  Franco-American  Negotiations.  March-April,  1920. 

5.  Caking  for  the  Graves  of  the  Fallen. 

6.  The  Fields  of  Honor. 

7.  A  Wab  Memorlals  Council. 

8.  Summary  of  Recommendations. 


AMERICAN  MILITARY  DEAD  OVERSEAS. 


I.  POLICY  OF  WAR  DEPARTMENT   REGARDING   RETURN 
OF  MILITARY  DEAD. 

One  need  not  search  long  or  far  to  find  curious  misimpressions  re- 
garding the  intention  of  the  Government  with  respect  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  American  military  remains.  There  is  a  feeling,  vague,  but 
rather  widely  spread,  that  the  actual  care  of  American  remains  in 
France  is  in  the  hands,  or  at  least  under  the  supervision,  of  the  French 
Republic.  There  is  some  prevalence  of  a  fear  also  that  those  remains 
not  returned  to  America  will  be  abandoned  eventually  overseas,  or 
that  their  care  will  consist  only  in  such  sporadic  attention  as  the 
willingness  of  local  authorities  or  the  efforts  of  interested  relatives 
may  make  possible. 

It  is  proper  therefore  to  restate  once  again  the  attitude  of  the 
War  Department. 

Those  military  remains,  whose  return  is  requested  by  their  nearest 
of  kin.  will  be  returned  to  America  and  to  the  location  designated  by 
the  relatives,  at  the  expense  of  the  Government.  Those,  whose  return 
from  France  is  not  requested  or  whose  permanent  retention  there  is 
desired  by  the  families  concerned,  will  rest  in  a  small  number  of 
American  fields  of  honor,  in  areas  permanently  assigned  for  eeme- 
terial  purposes  to  the  United  States  and  under  the  constant  and  per- 
petual care  of  the  American  Government. 

This  attitude  of  the  War  Department  has  been  stated  repeatedly. 
To  quote  from  one  of  a  number  of  similar  announcements,  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  wrote  in  January,  1920: 

The  department  wishes  to  repeat  and  emphasize  the  fad  thai  it  is  pledged 
t<>  return  to  America  all  those  bodies  which  the  nearest  of  kin  desire  brought 
back.  It  is  pledged  likewise  to  care  fittingly  and  tenderly  for  those  whose  rela- 
tives desire  them  to  rest  in  the  Fields  of  Honor,  which  will  contain  all  bodies  to 
he  retained  overseas. 

In  the  British  Isles  (where  about  3  per  cent  of  our  dead  rest )  only 
those  remains  are  being  left  at  present  whose  retention  has  been  re- 
quested. But  negotiations  are  in  progress  with  the  French  Govern- 
ment for  permission  to  remove  military  dead  from  Great  Britain  to 
the  permanent  American  burial  places  in  France.  It'  these  negotia- 
tions are  successful  it  is  probable  that  all  bodies  in  the  British  Isles 
not  requested  to  be  returned  to  America  or  to  eventual  private  cus- 

ii 


12  American    Military    Dead    Overseas 


tody  will  be  concentrated  in  the  Fields  of  Honor  in  northern  France. 
From  Germany  all  bodies  in  the  care  of  the  Government  will  be  re- 
moved either  to  the  United  States  or  to  the  permanent  American  ceme- 
teries abroad. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  sight  of  actual  disinterments,  how- 
ever reverently  made,  and  the  vision  of  the  Fields  of  Honor  have  left 
with  me  the  fervent  hope  that  the  proportion  of  parents  preferring 
to  have  their  sons  rest  overseas  will  be  large.  But,  officially,  no  officer 
of  the  War  Department  can  permit  such  a  hope  to  defeat  or  delay 
the  redemption  of  the  pledge  made  at  the  Avar's  beginning,  that  the 
desire  of  the  families  as  to  their  own  dead  would  take  precedence  over 
every  other  consideration. 

The  movement  of  those  remains  which  are  to  return  is  begun.  The 
first  bodies  from  England  were  shipped  in  late  February.  The  first 
shipment  from  France  started  in  early  April.  The  initial  evacuations 
from  Germany  will  be  made  in  May. 

Following  the  determination  upon  the  permanent  sites  of  the 
American  Fields  of  Honor  overseas,  the  work  of  beautifying  them 
may  be  pushed  forward  speedily,  in  order  that  they  may  serve  alike 
as  a  symbol  of  a  Nation's  gratitude  to  its  departed  sons  and  a 
demonstration  to  all  peoples  for  all  time  of  America's  response  to  a 
great  threat. 

II.  PUBLIC  OPINION  ON  THE  DISPOSITION  OF  MILITARY 

REMAINS. 

A  punctured  tire  had  stopped  my  automobile  along  a  byroad 
near  the  northwestern  frontier  of  Belgium.  While  repairs  were 
progressing  I  walked  into  a  field  beside  the  road,  where  a  multitude 
of  craters  bore  witness  to  a  violent  artillery  duel.  In  the  center  of 
the  field  what  might  have  been  an  imposing  shaft  or  statue  had 
become  scattered  particles  of  rock.  Here  and  there  were  bits  of  wood 
in  the  ground,  perhaps  debris  of  battle.  But  a  closer  examination 
disclosed  some  semblance  of  symmetry  about  them;  and  a  detailed 
survey  of  the  field  proved  it  to  be  a  German  cemetery,  or  the  pitiful 
remnant  of  what  had  been  one,  constructed  during  the  first  advance 
of  the  invader  and  destined  for  four  years  to  see  a  succession  of  blue 
and  gray  and  khaki  uniforms  sway  backward  and  forward  across 
it.  The  rock  dust  in  the  middle  of  the  plot  had  been  an  impressive 
monument ;  each  splintered  bit  of  wood  had  been  raised  to  mark  the 
resting  place  of  a  German  soldier. 

Five  million  soldier  corpses  lie  in  France,  killed  during  four  years 
of  fighting.  The  terrific  destructiveness  of  modern  engines  of  war; 
the  carelessness  of  soldiers  in  failing  often  to  keep  marks  of  identity 


American     Military     Dead    Overseas  13 

upon  their  persons:  the  effect  of  newly  introduced  chemicals  upon 
the  markings  on  name  plates:  the  inevitable  uncertainty  that  occurs 
in  the  heat  and  perils  of  battle — these  have  raised  to  mammoth  pro- 
portions the  task  of  finding  and  bringing  together  and  identifying 
the  dead  of  the  World  War. 

Happily  for  us.  the  situation  with  respect  to  American  dead  is 
relatively  much  less  unfortunate  than,  is  the  case  among  the  Allies. 
America  was  in  the  war  for  a  year  and  seven  months;  for  a  consider- 
able part  of  that  time  we  had  no  great  number  of  troops  in  the  line. 
Britain  and  France.  Belgium  and  Serbia,  fought  more  than  four  years. 
The  frontage  in  France  held  by  the  Americans  at  the  armistice  and 
the  number  of  men  holding  it  were  respectively  greater  than  the 
British  line  and  forces  in  France  at  that  time;  but  the  Britons  had 
been  in  the  battle  since  1!>14  and  their  dead  had  fallen  "  from  Xieu- 
port  to  Nazareth";  ours  (so  far  as  those  at  the  front  is  concerned) 
were  mainly  in  a  small  area.  More  important,  many  of  the  battle- 
field cemeteries  of  the  Allies  had  changed  hands  repeatedly  as  no 
man's  land  moved  up  or  back;  the  American  cemeteries  were  behind  a 
constantly  advancing  army;  many  of  them  were  shelled  but — more 
than  momentarily — none  were  lost  to  the  enemy. 

The  initial  task  for  each  of  the  allied  powers  after  hostilities  was 
to  bring  in  their  dead  from  the  burial  places  that  were  lonely  or  in- 
accessible, or  otherwise  unsuitable,  to  complete  the  work  of  identi- 
fication, and  to  beautify  the  graves  of  their  comrades.  The  War 
Department  having  stated  that  the  wishes  of  the  families  concerned 
would  be  followed,  the  question  early  arose  as  to  the  ultimate  dispo- 
sition of  American  remains.  In  the  course  of  the  discussion,  national 
organizations  were  formed  to  urge  the  retention  of  the  dead  in 
France  or  to  insist  upon  their  return  to  America,  and  no  little  heat 
was  engendered,  despite  the  fact  that  each  group  was  assured  from 
the  first  that  its  wishes  with  regard  to  the  disposition  of  its  own  dead 
would  be  scrupulously  respected. 

Those  in  France  and  in  America  who  advocate  keeping  Qur  dead 
overseas  urge,  in  opposing  immediate  repatriation,  that  the  transpor- 
tation facilities  of  northern  France  are  still  perilously  meager  and 
that  every  effort  should  be  centered  on  using  such  track  and  transport 
as  is  available  for  the  supply  of  food  and  shelter  and  working  mate- 
rials to  the  returning  inhabitants  of  the  devastated  areas  (which  in 
the  main  are  coterminous  with  the  cemeterial  areas).  The  population 
of  France,  they  recall,  was  under  a  cruel  strain  for  five  years  of  war: 
and  even  yet  the  devastation  in  the  north,  and  the  fiscal  and  industrial 
difficulties  throughout  the  country,  should  make  us  unwilling  to  place 
the  further  burden  on  the  morale  of  this  brave  people  that  would  be 
caused   by   the   continual    sight    of   endless    funeral    trains    passing 


14  American    Military    Dead    Overseas 

through  the  country.  France's  own  dead,  they  assert,  have  not  been 
returned  from  the  battle  front  and  from  the  colonies  to  their  homes; 
the  vast  amount  of  preliminary  work,  under  conditions  immeasurably 
more  difficult  than  ours,  will  make  it  impossible  for  the  French  to 
begin  this  return  until  a  considerable  interval  has  elapsed;  and  in  the 
meanwhile  no  discrimination  should  be  made  in  favor  of  America  by 
giving  it  preferential  treatment  over  the  other  associated  powers. 

In  opposing  likewise  the  ultimate  return  of  military  remains  to 
America  they  state  that  the  gruesomeness  of  the  operation  is  insuffi- 
ciently appreciated  by  those  who  demand  it.  and  that  sentimentally 
the  reverence  which — as  relatives  or  as  countrymen — we  feel  toward 
the  fallen  may  be  more  beautifully  and  appropriately  shown  by  suit- 
ably adorning  their  tombs  and  surroundings  and  by  permitting  them 
to  rest  with  their  fellows  beneath  the  fields  they  fought  to  save. 

But  those  who  insist  on  bringing  back  the  bodies  of  the  dead  remind 
us  that  our  traditional  policy — as  exemplified  in  the  Philippines,  in 
Cuba,  and  in  the  return  of  John  Paul  Jones — has  been  to  bring  back 
our  own.  They  point  to  a  Franco- American  agreement,  concluded 
in  August,  1918,  providing  that — 

The  Government  of  the  French  Republic  will  examine  conjointly  with  the 
American  Government  the  measures  to  be  taken  to  insure  *  *  *  the  trans- 
port and  return  to  the  United  States  of  the  bodies     *     *     *     interred  in  France. 

If  American  dead  are  left  in  France,  they  assert,  the  necessity  for 
preserving  the  inviolability  of  our  burial  places  will  be  the  more 
likely  to  involve  the  United  States  in  future  European  wars. 

The  position  of  American  parents,  they  add,  is  radically  different 
from  that  of  the  French  and  most  of  the  Allies.  In  the  latter  case, 
the  dead,  even  if  unreturned.  are  sufficiently  close  to  permit  sorrow- 
ing relatives  to  make  reverential  pilgrimages  to  the  graves  and  to 
show  the  respect  they  feel  for  their  lost  sons.  But  for  Americans 
there  is  necessary  a  long  trip  to  the  seacoast,  a  trans- Atlantic  voy- 
age, and  another  journey  by  land  across  a  country  strange  in  its 
language  and  customs.  The  project  is  one  of  great  difficulty  at  best, 
they  insist,  and  it  is  wholly  impossible  for  that  majority  of  parents 
who  are  of  moderate  means. 

Both  those  who  deplore  and  those  who  demand  the  return  of 
remains  to  America  have  been  inclined  at  times  to  voice  generaliza- 
tions which  are  scarcely  supported  by  sufficient  evidence. 

Occasionally  it  is  stated  that  the  first  wish  of  the  dead,  themselves, 
could  they  be  consulted,  would  be  to  return  to  their  own  families 
and  homes;  perhaps  with  slightly  greater  frequency  we  are  told  that 
the  preference  of  those  who  lie  in  France  would  be  to  remain  where 
they  fell.     Xo  actual  poll  of  soldiers'  opinions,  sufficiently  general 


American    Military     Dead    Overseas  15 

to  be  conclusive,  seems  ever  to  have  Ween  taken  which  would  support 
either  of  these  assertions. 

The  correspondence  of  the  War  Department  indicates  that  a  ma- 
jority of  the  parents  and  near  relatives  of  the  American  Expedition- 
ary Forces'  dead  prefer  to  have  the  remains  brought  hack  to  America. 
It  tends  to  show  also  that  the  majority  of  those  who  have  no  near 
relatives  buried  abroad  favor  the  retention  of  our  dead  overseas. 
The  first  convention  of  the  American  Legion  in  the  United  States 
and  one  post  helium  divisional  poll  furnished  evidence  signifying 
a  probable  preponderance  of  opinion  among  service  men  favoring 
retention  abroad  in  the  absence  of  an  adverse  expression  on  the  part 
of  the  families  concerned. 

Some  months  a<ro  a  compilation  of  replies  from  an  inquiry  sent 
to  approximately  75,000  emerg-ency  addresses  of  deceased  soldiers 
indicated  that  in  about  59  per  cent  of  the  eases  the  return  of  the 
remains  to  America  was  desired.  The  additional  41  per  cent  was 
made  up  of  "26  per  cent  who  affirmatively  requested  retention  in  France. 
14  per  cent  who  did  not  reply,  and  a  very  small  number  requesting 
reburial  in  countries  other  than  the  United  States. 

More  recent  revisions  of  this  data  for  localized  areas  tend  to  show 
that  about  60  per  cent  of  the  remains  in  the  vicinity  of  Brest  and 
about  56  per  cent  of  those  about  St.  Xazaire  will  be  returned  to 
America. 

It  has  been  alleged  that  the  motive  behind  the  proposal  for  the 
return  of  bodies  is  "  the  propaganda  of  the  undertakers  and  coffin 
makers."  So.  too,  it  has  been  charged  that  activating  the  movement 
for  the  retention  of  the  dead  abroad  was  the  hope  of  "the  French  " 
to  make  their  presence  a  source  of  constant  and  substantial  financial 
revenue.  Specific  and  sufficient  data  has  not  yet  been  adduced  to 
indicate  that  either  fear  is  borne  out  in  fact.  One  group  of  embalmers 
did  take  part  in  the  dissemination  of  advertisements  and  circular 
letters  which,  from  the  viewpoint  of  professional  ethics,  were  open 
to  question.  But  there  was  a  repudiation  without  delay  from  the 
recognized  association  of  reputable  funeral  directors.  Undoubtedly, 
also,  instances  of  extortion  and  profiteering  might  be  found  among 
merchants  and  innkeepers  in  the  vicinity  of  some  of  the  hundred-  of 
American  burial  places  in  France:  it  will  not  be  wondered  at  by  those 
who  have  seen  too  many  similar  instances  near  military  camps  in 
America.  But  it  is  not  true  that  there  exists  now  in  France  any  gen- 
erally prevalent  effort  to  capitalize  financially  American  burial  places. 

The  number  of  differing  localities  and  persons  involved  precludes 
the  making  of  any  sweeping  statements  concerning  the  attitude  of 
the  French  populace  toward  our  cemeteries.  My  own  experience 
was  deeply  gratifying.    No  one  who  goes  through  the  overseas  burial 


16  American    Military     Dead    Overseas 

places  will  fail  to  see  incidents  that  are  as  genuine  and  sincere  as 
they  are  touching  and  reverential. 

While  (Jen.  Walsh  was  still  the  American  commander  at  Bordeaux 
he  went  to  a  village  cemetery  near  by  with  Gen.  Jadwin  to  visit  the 
grave  of  a  man  from  the  hitter's  troops.  They  found  an  old  French 
woman  pottering  about  the  graves;  and  they  learned  on  questioning 
her  that  the  women  of  the  neighboring  village  had  divided  the 
mounds  among  themselves  and  that  each  cared  for  her  quota  of 
Americans. 

When  I  asked  the  director  of  Red  Cross  activities  in  France  and 
Belgium  what  his  experience  had  been,  he  replied  by  showing  me  a 
current  report  from  one  of  his  district  managers,  in  which  I  read : 

Shortly  after  arriving  here  we  found  in  the  neglected  Boche  cemetery  of 
Anion  one  grave  not  buried  in  weeds.  On  this  grave  grew  rose  bushes  long 
tended  by  unknown  French  hands:  at  the  head  of  the  grave  one  read  on  the 
cross  from  which  hung  a  French  wreath  the  name  of  the  soldier  buried  there 
during  the  German  occupation,  ('apt.  Miller.  American  aviator. 

In  the  fields  at  Merval  while  plowing  a  farmer  found  the  body  of  an 
American,  killed  in  the  taking  of  that  region  between  the  Vesle  and  the  Aisne. 
Who  saw  that  this  ally's  body  was  transferred  to  an  American  cemetery? 
Naturally  the  old  father  of  Mile.  Lecat,  of  our  '*  Village  liberes  committee  "  at 
Merval. 

At  the  same  committee's  barrack  one  day  there  halted  an  American  Army  car, 
with  a  captain  speaking  no  French.  He  was  in  search  of  the  grave  of  his  brother, 
killed  in  an  attack  which  had  not  gained  the  expected  ground,  so  that  the  fallen 
officer's  body  had  been  buried  by  the  Bodies  behind  their  lines.  The  captain, 
who  had  been  with  the  Army  of  occupation  on  the  Khine,  had.  curiously  enough, 
been  able  to  get  from  German  sources  a  description  of  where  his  brother's  grave 
was  to  he  found — in  a  German  cemetery  at  a  tiny  hamlet  back  of  the  heights 
dominating  the  north  side  of  the  Aisne.  But.  even  with  this  description,  he  was 
at  a  loss,  for  the  little  roads  leading  to  the  hamlet  in  question  were  as  vague 
to  him  as  the  language  of  the  inhabitants.  Mile.  Lecat,  who  can  understand 
English,  got  into  the  captain's  car.  guided  him  to  Cuisy.  and  there,  most  difficult 
of  all,  learned  from  one  of  the  few  inhabitants  where  to  look  for  that  lost  little 
enemy  cemetery.  Behind  the  smashed  hilltop  village  they  found  it,  utterly 
buried  in  weeds:  and,  as  the  captain's  German  description  had  it,  there  indeed 
was  his  brother's  grave,  the  last  in  the  last  row  of  weathered  crosses. 

The  care  which  Mme.  Dufay,  of  the  S.  S.  B.  M.  committee  at  Chezy-on-Orxois 
has  given  to  our  dead  of  the  Chateau-Thierry  region  is  infinitely  touching. 
Mother  of  three  sons  dead  for  France,  she  estahlishd  herself  at  Chezy.  near  the 
grave  of  one  of  them  killed  in  a  joint  French  and  American  attack.  For  his 
American  comrades  in  arms,  dead  for  the  same  cause,  there  is  no  service  she 
has  not  rendered — searching  out  their  graves  in  the  woods,  having  their  bodies 
exhumed,  collecting  for  their  relations  any  relics  that  she  could  find  on  them, 
wrapping  them  in  her  own  white  sheets,  transferring  them  to  our  ceme- 
teries, planting  their  new  graves  with  flowers. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Wadsworth,  an  American  resident  of  Chateau-Thierry, 
in  a  communication  to  Hon.  Richard  Yates,  reprinted  in  the  Con- 
gressional Record  of  March  26.  1920,  writes  from  intimate  knowledge 


American     Military     Dead    Overseas  17 

of  the  willingness  <>t"  the  near-by  population  to  be  helpful.     A.mong 
the  experiences  lit'  recounts  is  this  one: 

Prom  time  to  time  the  people  conic  t<>  us  telling  of  the  finding  of  American 
graves.  We  have  gone  oul  with  them,  feeling  glad  for  their  solicitude  for  our 
American  soldiers. 

This  morning  I  wenl  to  one  of  those  villages  from  which  had  come  Hie  word 
th.it  Madame  Assailly  had  found  four  graves.  We  found  her,  with  her  aged, 
crippled  husband,  living  in  a  poor,  shell-torn  house  down  near  the  banks  of  the 
Marne.  While  she  was  hurriedly  making  her  toilet  to  ride  with  us  in  our  auto- 
mobile her  husband  told  of  the  time  when  the  bombardmenl  of  their  village 
was  made,  and  how,  because  Of  his  lameness,  he  was  left  behind  while  his  wife 
was  taken  away  prisoner  by  the  Germans.  One  could  easily  see  the  pleasure 
felt  by  the  old  lady  in  being  able  to  give  this  valuable  information  to  us  con- 
cerning our  dead.  *  Hurrying  on  before  us  Madame  Assailly  brought 
us  to  the  place  where  lying  about  50  feet  from  each  other  were  three  places 
marked  with  improvised  crosses  made  of  sticks  or  laths  about  '_'  feet  in  Length. 
*  *  *  As  we  turned  to  go  back  to  the  road  .Madame  Assailly  remarked 
that  if  was  to  her  a  great  happiness  to  render  some  service  to  the  Americans 
who  had  done  sn  much  for  them. 

An  ex-sergeant  in  the  Expeditionary  Forces.  Hudson  Hawley,  re- 
turned to  France  a  year  after  the  armistice  to  revisit  the  scenes  he 
had  known  in  war  time.  On  All  Souls  Day  he  was  in  the  village  of 
Perigueux  in  the  Department  of  the  Dordogne  where,  in  the  church- 
yard of  St.  Georges,  a  number  of  Americans  lie.  His  story  of  "  The 
Fading  Trail  of  the  Yank,"  in  the  Home  Sector,  says  of  his  visit : 

I  was  the  only  living  American  in  that  area,  the  only  ex-soldier  there  to  pay 
respect  to  those  of  his  comrades  who  lie  buried  in  what  is  pretty  nearly  the 
farthest  south  cemetery  of  ours  in  Fiance.  But  our  allies,  the  good  people  of 
the  countryside,  had  preceded  me  in  their  devotions  to  my  countrymen. 

In  a  central  position  in  the  cemetery,  so  disposed  as  not  to  favor  any  particular 
grave,  was  a  great  wreath  with  a  ribbon  of  silver  and  horizon  blue,  bearing  the 
inscription,  "Aux  soldats  Americains."  At  least  every  other  of  the  little  mounds 
was  decorated  with  a  bunch  of  wild  flowers,  broughl  by  some  child,  no  doubt, 
for  as  1  entered  the  inclosure  1  found  many  of  the  youngsters  of  the  neighbor- 
hood going  silently  and  daintily  about  laying  their  offerings  on  the  graves.  A 
fair  sprinkling  of  middle-aged  and  elderly  Frenchwomen  were  on  hand,  moving 
about  among  the  plots,  reading  what  they  could  of  the  names,  and  depositing 
their  humble  wreaths. 

And    as    1    stood    there    with    bared    head    before    that    spectacle    of    friendly 

solicitude    for    the    fallen    sons    of    AmeriCi Hhers,    monsieur    le    cure    of    St. 

George,  with  his  two  young  assistant  priests,  came  marching  in  with  cassock 
and  surplice  and  cross,  and.  uncovering,  stood  before  the  ranks  of  the  graves 
and  began  to  recite  the  Latin  commemorative  service  for  the  dead. 

It  was  biting  cold  and  snowing  hard  little  pellets,  yet  the  kindly  old  priest 
and  the  two  young  men  beside  him  stood  there  a  good  quarter  of  an  hour,  giving 
antiphon   and   response   for   the  strangers  who   remained   within    their  gates.      At 

the  final  " Requiescal    in   pace."   with   its  concluding  "Amen,"   they   remained 

Standing  in  meditation  for  a  moment,  and  then  solemnly  made  a  short  tour 
around   the  cemetery  before  filing  out   as  thev  came. 


18  American     Military     Dead    Overseas 

Sonic  time  before  the  armistice,  the  Secretary  of  War  was  returning 
from  the  front  line  to  the  American  General  Headquarters,  when  his 
automobile  stopped  during  the  passing  of  a  funeral  procession.  The 
Secretary  followed  the  cortege  to  the  burial  place  and  found  there, 
to  his  astonishment,  not  only  a  French  padre  and  a  Protestant  chap- 
lain, arm  in  arm.  with  an  escort  of  soldiers  and  choir  boys,  but  gath- 
ered there  as  well  the  women  of  the  yillage,  with  two  huge  wreaths — 
the  more  beautiful  because  of  their  crude  and  homely  fashioning — to 
place  on  the  newly  turned  earth. 

After  1iis  return  to  America  the  Secretary  referred  to  the  incident 
in  a  public  address.  In  the  audience  was  the  poet  Edmund  Vance 
Cook,  to  whom  the  story  so  appealed  that  he  reconstructed  in  his 
verses,  "  Mothers  of  France,"  the  narrative  of  the  tenderness  of  those 
Frenchwomen  toward  the  unknown  private  of  the  42  d  Division,  who 
had  come  to  the  end  of  the  rainbow ; 

These  women  of  France  he  came  to  save 

Had  never  known  his  face  or  heard  his  name, 

But  when  they  saw  the  funeral  hie  they  came, 

Dropping  their  daily  tasks,  to  take  the  place 

Of  his  own  womankind.     His  mother's  face 

Shone  out  from  theirs.     Almost  it  seemed  that  she 

Had  spirited  across  the  wind-lashed  sea 

And  wept  through  those  sad  eyes  of  Picardy. 

Great  heart  of  France!     Which  hath  withstood  so  well 

The  blast  of  hattles  and  the  hates  of  hell, 

Which  yet  hath  grace  to  spare  thy  prayers  and  flowers, 

From  thy  unnumbered  dead  to  one  of  ours. 

Our  love  is  thine!     By  heart,  by  hand,  by  head; 

By  whatsoever  pledge  it  may  be  said  ! 

By  these — thy  women,  mothering  our  dead  ! 

The  weather  never  becomes  sufficiently  stormy,  says  the  caretaker 
at  Suresnes,  to  stop  the  coming  of  the  townsfolk  or  their  caring  for 
the  grave  plots  of  the  Americans.  From  our  old  headquarters  at 
Chaumont  I  started  on  a  cemeterial  inspection  trip  just  after  day- 
break on  an  April  morning.  Even  at  that  early  hour  I  met  at  the 
gate  of  the  little  cemetery  old  Madame  Fauriat,  carrying  a  basket 
of  simple  flowers  to  scatter  among  the  trim  crosses  where  the  dew 
reflected  the  dawn's  early  light. 

Many  instances  came  to  my  attention  of  cases  where  caretakers  had 
to  restrain  French  villagers  from  placing  such  decorations  on  Ameri- 
can graves  as  conflicted  with  the  regulations  designed  to  insure 
uniformity  of  appearance.  Sometimes  this  course  was  thought  by 
the  peasants  to  indicate  a  lack  of  respect  and  reverence  for  our  dead 
on  the  part  of  the  cemeterial  authorities.  To  such  an  extent  is 
this  true  that  the  Graves  Registration  Service  has  in  preparation 
a  bilingual  pamphlet,  explanatory  both  of  the  regulations  applying 


American    Military     Dead    Overseas  19 

to  the  decoration  of  our  cemeteries  and  the  appreciation  felt  for  the 
kindly  solicitude  which  prompts  the  adornmenl  of  American  graves 
by  French  citizens. 

But  these  instances,  even  though  numerous,  perhaps  do  not  justify 
;i  positive  generalization;  they  certainly,  however,  refute  the  contrary 
conclusion  that  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  France  there  is  no 
respect  for  or  other  than  a  commercial  interest  in  the  graves  of  the 
Yanks  who  will  he  always  overseas. 

III.  FRANCO-AMERICAN  NEGOTIATIONS,  JUNE,  1918- 
FEBRUARY,  1920. 

The  customs  of  the  French  people  attendant  upon  the  burial  of 
their  dead  developed  observances  which  not  only  seemed  strange  to 
the  alien  and  the  transient  but  which  were  scarcely  practicable  in 
time  of  war,  and  in  a  military  organization.  There  w7as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  practice  of  retaining  mourners  in  distinctive  dress,  to 
participate  in  the  funeral  procession;  a  police  official  usually  wit- 
nessed and  certified  to  the  fact  of  interment;  the  coffin  was  purchased 
customarily  from  a  firm  possessing  a  monopoly  on  the  supply  of  such 
articles  in  the  locality.  Such  restrictions  being  obviously  undesir- 
able in  time  of  military  operations,  negotiations  took  place  between 
the  American  and  French  Governments  early  in  1918,  and  an  agree- 
ment was  reached  giving  freedom  to  the  American  military  and 
naval  authorities  with  regard  to  the  method  of  burying  their 
military  dead. 

The  same  agreement  included  the  significant  provision  that,  fol- 
lowing the  evacuation  of  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces  from 
France : 

The  Government  of  the  French  Republic  would  examine  con  jointly  with  the 
American  Government  the  methods  to  he  taken  to  insure,  in  conformity  with 
the  French  laws  and  police  regulations  regarding  hygiene,  the  transport,  and 
return  to  the  United  States  of  the  bodies  of  American  soldiers  and  sailors 
interred  in  France. 

The  French  Parliament,  late  in  1915.  had  enacted  legislation  pre- 
scribing the  methods  of  procuring  sites  for  French  and  Allied  burial 
places.  The  cost  incurred  in  the  acquisition  of  these  plots  was  to 
he  borne  by  the  French  Government,  though  the  upkeep  of  the  graves 
was  subject  to  assignment  to  organizations  established  for  that  pur- 
pose in  the  Allied  countries.  The  responsibility  for  carrying  out 
the  provisions  of  this  law  was  intrusted  to  the  Office  for  Military 
Graves  in  the  Ministry  of  War. 

The  Government  of  Great  Britain  effected  an  agreement  with  the 
French  Government  early  in  1(.>P.>  providing  that  the  recently  estab- 
lished Imperial  Commission  on   Military  Sepultures  should  be  the 


INTERIOR  AND   EXTERIOR  VIEWS  OF  ARMY   BARRACKS   USED   AS 
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22  American    Military    Dead    Overseas 

official  organization  having  jurisdiction  over  Great  Britain's  military 
graves  in  France.  This  arrangement  provided,  in  the  main,  that  iso- 
lated tombs  of  British  soldiers  found  in  the  region  of  former  battle 
fields  might  be  removed  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  with  a  view 
of  gathering  bodies  into  military  cemeteries;  that  the  French  Govern- 
ment would  instruct  local  authorities  to  grant  authorizations  for  the 
disinterment  and  transportation  of  bodies  to  military  cemeteries;  that 
the  Ministry  of  War  would  acquire  such  ground  as  was  certified  to  be 
necessary  for  burial  places  by  the  Imperial  Commission:  that  disinter- 
ments with  a  view  of  transportation  to  the  United  Kingdom  might 
occur  only  with  the  acquiescence  of  the  Imperial  Commission:  and 
that  all  commemorative  monuments  in  France  honoring  British  mili- 
tary actions  should  be  presented  to  the  Imperial  Commission. 

Each  request  made  by  American  officials  to  the  French  Govern- 
ment, during  the  period  just  after  the  armistice,  looking  toward  the 
return  of  military  dead  to  the  United  States  from  the  zone  of  opera- 
tions, met  a  firm  disinclination  on  the  part  of  the  French  Government 
to  permit  such  removal.  Reporting  an  extended  conference  held  with 
representatives  of  the  French  Commission  for  Military  Graves,  in 
April,  1919,  officials  of  the  American  Graves  Registration  stated : 

The  authorities  of  France  have  given  due  consideration  to  each  practical  and 
gruesome  aspect  of  the  horrors  involved  in  the  passing  of  the  millions  of  bodies 
of  military  dead  over  its  national  railways  or  highways,  the  insuperable  diffi- 
culties of  transportation,  sanitary  regulations,  the  public  health,  effective  regis- 
tration, problems  of  construction  and  reconstruction,  etc..  and  have  therefore 
promulgated    the    existing   decree    of    prohibition    concerning    such    removals. 

*  *  *  Should  an  exception  be  made  in  the  case  of  American  dead,  it  would 
at  once  involve  each  of  the  other  nations  in  clamorous  agitation  for  like  action. 

*  *  *  France  particularly,  whose  whole  territory  would  become  a  veritable 
charnel  house  if  such  extensive  exhumations  should  take  place,  entertains  strong 
hope  of  deliverance  from  such  an  event. 

The  "  existing  decree  of  prohibition  "  referred  to  was  a  promulga- 
tion of  "  provisional  instructions  "  by  the  French  Premier,  two  months 
previously,  in  February,  1919.  These  instructions,  which  had  the 
force  of  law.  forbade  indefinitely  disinterments  in  the  "  zone  of  mili- 
tary operations  "  except  such  as  were  necessary  for  the  centralization 
of  bodies,  the  release  of  private  grounds,  the  making  over  of  ceme- 
teries, and  such  removals  as  were  dictated  by  considerations  of  public 
health. 

The  "  zone  of  operations  "  was  given  boundaries  (which  later  were 
to  have  an  important  effect  on  the  work  of  removing  American  dead), 
as  follows : 

The  southwest  of  the  Department  of  the  Somme. 

The  west  and  south  of  the  Department  of  the  Oise. 

The  west  and  south  of  the  districts  of  Meaux,  Coulommiers,  and  Provius. 

The  south  of  the  Departments  of  the  Marne  and  Meuse. 

The  west  and  south  of  the  Department  of  the  Vosges. 

The  west  of  the  territory  of  Belfort. 


American    Military     Dead    Overseas  23 

At  about  the  same  time  there  was  introduced  in  the  French  Parlia- 
ment a  hill  prohibiting  the  exhumation  and  transportation  to  their 
homes  of  the  remains  of  French,  allied,  or  enemy  soldiers  or  sailors 
before  January  1,  L922.  The  " statement  of  motives"  presented  with 
the  bill,  which  was  thought  to  have  the  indorsement  of  the  French 
administration,  stated  in  conclusion  : 

To  sum  up:  The  prohibition  againsl    the  transportation  during  a  period  of 
three  years  of  all  remains  of  soldiers  who  have  died  during  the  war 
would  appear  to  ho  indispensable  on  the  following  grounds: 

( 1 )  Not  to  demobilize  rolling  stock  for  purposes  which  could  ho  deferred, 
insomuch  as  availabilities  are  unequal  to  the  most  urgent  needs. 

(2)  To  enable  the  methodical  reconstruction  of  cemeteries,  the  regrouping 
of  isolated  graves,  and  the  identification  of  tombs. 

The  Commanding  General  of  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces 
(•tilled  the  attention  of  the  War  Department  to  the  tact  that  the 
freedom  of  action  of  the  United  States  with  respect  to  the  disposition 
of  military  remains  would  be  prejudiced  by  the  enactment  of  the 
proposed  legislation.  The  War  Department  having  communicated 
with  the  State  Department,  the  Acting  Secretary  of  State  instructed 
the  American  ambassador  in  Paris  to  make  a  vigorous  protest  at 
the  ministry  of  foreign  affairs  against  the  passage  of  the  bill.  This 
was  done,  and  the  projected  legislation  was  not  enacted,  though  it 
was  substantially,  if  informally,  put  into  effect  by  the  "  provisional 
instructions  "  of  the  Premier. 

The  procuring  of  permanent  places  of  burial  for  American  dead 
overseas  was  given  tangible  form  shortly  after  the  armistice,  when 
Marshal  Petain  wrote  to  (ien.  Pershing  proposing  the  establishment 
of  American  fields  of  honor  in  France,  and  stating  that,  "  France 
would  be  happy  and  proud  to  retain  the  bodies  of  American  victims 
who  had  fallen  on  her  soil." 

The  marshal  thought  that  localities  where  our  soldiers  had  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  battle  would  be  most  suitable  for  the  loca- 
tion of  American  cemeteries,  and  he  offered  his  services  in  bringing 
the  matter  before  the  French  Government.  (Jen.  Pershing  replied 
that,  "Should  the  United  States  Government  desire  me  to  under- 
take negotiations,  with  a  view  of  establishing  permanent  cemeteries 
in  France,  I  should  be  happy  to  avail  myself  of  your  offer  of  assist- 
ance." 

In  America,  meanwhile,  a  rather  sharp  difference  of  opinion  was 
developing  concerning  the  general  advisability  of  removing  the 
remains  of  military  dead  from  France.  "The  Bring  Home  the 
Soldier  Dead  League,"  with  which  was  affiliated  many  parents 
and  relatives  of  our  overseas  dead,  was  organized  for  the  pur- 
pose   of    pressing   and    expediting   the    bringing    home    of    the    re- 


24  American    Military    Dead    Overseas 

mains  of  their  kinsmen.  "The  Field  of  Honor  Association"  was 
forming  to  assist  in  crystallizing  a  public  opinion  favorable  to  the 
retention  of  military  remains  overseas,  excepting  in  cases  where  the 
next  of  kin  insisted  upon  their  return. 

Gen.  Pershing-,  cabling  to  the  War  Department  on  the  subject  be- 
fore his  departure  from  France,  believed  "That  could  these  soldiers 
speak  for  themselves,  they  would  wish  to  be  left  undisturbed,  where 
with  their  comrades  they  had  fought  their  last  fight.  *  *  *  The 
graves  of  our  soldiers  constitute,  if  they  are  allowed  to  remain,  a 
perpetual  reminder  to  our  allies  of  the  liberty  and  ideals  upon  which 
the  greatness  of  America  rests." 

He  recommended  that  "None  of  our  dead  be  removed  from  Eu- 
rope, unless  their  nearest  relatives  so  demand  after  a  full  under- 
standing of  all  the  sentimental  reasons  against  such  a  removal." 

The  American  Legion,  at  its  Minneapolis  convention,  considering 
the  return  of  military  dead,  passed  this  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  it  he  the  tense  of  the  American  Legion  that  the  bodies  of  the 
American  dead  he  not  returned  from  France,  except  in  cases  where  the  parents 
or  next  of  kin  desire  that  the  Government  return  them,  and  that  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  cooperation  with  the  Government  and  the  people  of 
France,  establish  and  maintain  cemeteries  for  the  American  dead  that  remain 
in  France,  or  other  foreign  countries,  to  the  end  that  the  graves  of  tbose  who 
made  the  supreme  sacrifice  may  tie  maintained  as  a  fitting  memorial  of  Ameri- 
ca's unselfish  service  to  humanity. 

The  attitude  of  the  War  Department,  as  indicated  in  Section  1.  re- 
mained constant — it  would  neither  propose  nor  oppose  the  bringing 
of  military  dead  from  overseas  to  America,  but  it  would  place  all 
available  information  at  the  disposal  of  the  relatives  concerned,  and 
would  abide  by  their  decision. 

In  order,  however,  to  put  into  effect  the  wishes  of  the  next  of  kin, 
it  was  necessary  for  the  War  Department  to  reach  an  agreement  with 
the  French  Government  that  would  give  us  freedom  of  action,  with 
regard  to  leaving  our  deceased  soldiers  in  France,  or  bringing  their 
remains  to  the  ITnited  States. 

In  December,  1919,  the  French  council  of  ministers  gave  permis- 
sion to  the  American  authorities  to  return  any  bodies  buried  outside 
the  military  zone;  but  repeated  representations  by  the  State  Depart- 
ment to  the  Ministry  of  War  and  the  Foreign  Office  failed  to  procure 
permission  for  the  removal  of  remains  from  the  former  battle  area. 

At  the  end  of  1919  a  comprehensive  communication  from  the  State 
Department  urged  that  the  French  prohibition  should  be  lifted,  in 
view  of  the  facts : 

(1)  That  the  great  distance  between  France  and  America  and  the  great 
expense  involved  made  it   impracticable  for  all  hut   a  few  relatives  to  visit  the 


American     Military     Dead    Overseas  25 


graves  of  their  loved  ones,  as  is  relatively  easy  for  those  who  are  not  separated 
by  the  ocean,  and  bj  barriers  of  language  and  custom,  from  the  resting  places 
of  their  deceased  kinsfolk. 

( 2 )  Thai  the  comparatively  small  aumber  of  American  soldiers  among  the 
nearly  5,000,000  military  dead  in  France  would  no1  seriously  embarrass  1 1 » *  - 
French  Government  if  permission  were  given  for  their  removal. 

(3)  Thai  arrangements  could  !>«'  made  for  preventing  undue  interference 
with  traffic,  or  the  routing  of  a  large  number  of  bodies  over  densely  populated 
districts,  thus  avoiding  the  strain  upon  railroad  facilities  and  the  depression  of 
civilian  morale 

(4)  Thai  countries  other  than  France  were  permitting  the  repatriation  of 
remains,  and  thai  failure  or  delay  on  the  pari  of  France  would  create  an  unfavor- 
able impression. 

The  French  Government  \\;is  unwilling  to  go  further  in  reply  than 
to  admit  in  principle  the  right  of  the  American  ( rovernment  to  return 
its  military  remains  to  the  United  States,  but  to  withhold  permission 
for  the  exercise  of  this  right  in  the  zone  of  operations.  The  French 
Premier,  however,  agreed  to  the  appointment  of  an  international  com- 
mission to  attempt  the  working  out  of  a  plan  for  the  exhumation  and 
transport  of  the  bodies  of  American  soldiers  to  French  ports,  "tak- 
ing into  account  the  material  availabilities  of  the  Government,  both 
as  regards  coal  and  cars  and  other  means  of  transportation." 

The  State  Department  requested  the  Secretary  of  War  to  name 
the  American  members  of  the  international  commission:  he  imme- 
diately appointed  (  ol.  Bentley  T.  Mott,  the  military  attache  at  Paris. 
and  Col.  Henry  F.  Kethers.  Chief  of  the  American  Graves  Registra- 
tion Service,  Quartermaster  Corps,  in  Europe;  and  in  late  February 
dispatched  the  writer,  as  assistant  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  to  Europe 
to  make  available  for  the  commission  the  results  of  previous 
negotiations. 

IV.  FRANCO-AMERICAN  NEGOTIATIONS,  MARCH- 
APRIL,  1920. 

The  commission  appointed  by  the  French  Government  to  meet  the 
American  commissioners  included  representatives  from  nearly  every 
ministry  in  the  cabinet.  The  size  of  such  a  group,  the  absence  of  some 
of  its  members  from  Paris,  the  difficulty  of  settling  upon  a  time 
suitable  for  all.  frustrated  for  a  time  the  efforts  of  the  American 
members  to  expedite  the  convening  of  the  two  groups. 

On  March  20,  finally,  the  initial  meeting  was  held  at  the  Ministry 
of  Foreign  Affairs.  Both  American  commissioners  were  present,  and 
for  the  French  Government  t  here  were  in  attendance  officials  from  the 
Ministries  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Interior,  War,  Public  Works,  Liberated 
Regionsj  Hygiene,  and  Pensions.  M.  Maginot,  the  Minister  of  Pen- 
sions and  the  chairman  of  the  commission,  presided. 


26  American    Military     Dead    Overseas 

In  tlic  course  of  a  prolonged  discussion  concerning  the  removal  of 
American  dead  from  the  "zone  of  operations."'  the  French  members 
touched  upon  the  giving  of  priority  to  the  United  States  over  France 
in  the  making  of  disinterments,  the  sanitary  dangers  to  be  overcome, 
and  the  limitations  on  transport  and  labor  facilities  in  northern 
France.  The  president  of  the  commission  stated  that  he  would  bring 
the  entire  matter  before  the  next  meeting  of  the  French  cabinet, 
on  March  23,  and  the  commission  adjourned  to  reconvene  on  March  24. 

Preceding  the  second  meeting  of  the  commission,  the  American 
members  invited  a  number  of  French  sanitary  officers  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Graves  Registration  Service,  where  a  detailed  demon- 
stration and  explanation  was  made  of  the  methods  to  be  employed  by 
us,  with  particular  reference  to  hygienic  safeguards. 

At  the  second  session  of  the  full  commission,  on  the  24th,  the  presi- 
dent urged,  as  the  time  for  beginning  operations,  a  date  not  prior  to 
November  1,  and  stated  that  he  would  submit  a  formal  proposal  to 
the  American  representatives  on  the  following  day. 

The  proposal  referred  to  did  not  name  a  specific  time  when  ex- 
humations would  be  sanctioned  but  it  prohibited  disinterments  and 
removals  before  the  end  of  the  summer.  A  detailed  reply  dispatched 
by  the  American  representatives  on  the  same  day,  March  25,  stated 
that  no  indefinite  arrangement  as  to  the  time  of  beginning  work 
could  be  acceptable  in  the  United  States  and  proposed  the  fixing  of 
an  early  date,  after  which  the  Graves  Registration  Service  might  be 
free  to  carry  on  its  work  in  the  "  zone  of  operations." 

The  hesitancy  of  the  French  officials  to  comply  immediately  with 
the  requests  of  the  American  representatives  rested  mainly  on  seven 
chief  considerations : 

1.  Their  unwillingness  to  discriminate  in  favor  of  Americans  at 
a  time  when  French  dead  (far  more  numerous  and  much  less  easily 
identified)  could  not  yet  be  returned  from  their  battle-field  graves 
to  their  homes. 

2.  The  fear  of  the  effect  upon  badly  strained  civilian  morale  of 
a  constant  succession  of  westbound  funeral  trains  and  eastbound 
mortuary  supplies. 

3.  The  possibility  of  other  nations  with  a  vastly  greater  number 
of  dead  making  similar  demands  if  the  American  requests  were 
complied  with. 

4.  An  uncertainty  as  to  whether  the  hygienic  features  of  the 
operations  could  be  safeguarded  sufficiently  to  eliminate  all  fears 
based  on  sanitation. 

5.  The  necessity  for  avoiding — during  the  opening  stages  of  eco- 
nomic recovery  in  the  devastated  areas — all  enterprises  which  could 
be  delaved.  thus  allowing  the  utilization  of  all  the  meager  available 


American    Military    Dead    Overseas  27 

resources  for  getting  the  Wattle  area  and  its  returning  refugees 
back  to  a  normal  basis  of  living. 

6.  The  shortage  of  locomotive  equipment  throughout   France  and 

the  destruction  of  portions  of  the  northern  rail  systems :  direct  rail 
connection  has  not  yet  been  reestablished  with  the  villages  nearest 
the  two  largest  American  cemeteries  in  Europe. 

7.  The  acute  scarcity  of  coal  in  France,  felt  particularly  in  the 
early  summer  of  L920  when  the  negotiations  concerning  the  disposi- 
tion of  American  military  dead  were  in  progress. 

This  last  difficulty — in  combination  with  the  strike  of  railway  em- 
ployees at  the  beginning  of  April,  and  the  fear  of  a  general  strike  in 
early  May — loomed  large  in  the  minds  of  the  French  representatives. 
There  have  been  inquiries  in  America  as  to  whether  the  plea  of  the 
French  relative  to  their  fuel  and  transport  situations  represented  a 
real  or  fanciful  objection.  An  actual  observation  of  conditions  would 
convince  the  spectator,  in  my  opinion,  that  this  difficulty  is  far  from 
being  without  a  basis  in  fact.  Tourists,  of  course,  will  penetrate  to 
the  former  battle  fields  and  in  doing  so  will  consume  coal  and  gaso- 
line;  the  combination  of  the  travelers'  insistence  (often  with  laudable 
and  sufficient  reasons)  upon  reaching  the  battle  areas,  and  the  not  un- 
natural desire  of  the  returning  inhabitants  of  the  villages  to  reestab- 
lish, to  some  extent,  their  social  and  commercial  relations,  would  be 
likely  in  some  degree  to  overcome  any  considerations  of  prudence  and 
conservation.  But  the  fact  that  France  faces  a  serious  coal 
shortage  is  reflected  in  drastic  fashion  by  the  inconvenience  to 
which  its  own  citizens  have  been  subjected,  even  in  their  capital  city. 
I  quote  excerpts  which  might  be  multiplied  at  will  from  articles  in 
French,  British,  and  American  newspapers,  appearing  during  the 
time  when  the  agreement  regarding  American  military  remains  was 
being  negotiated : 

The  Chicago  Tribune,  European  edition,  March  0.  1920,  stated: 

Consequent  on  the  necessity  of  saving  coal  following  the  miners'  strike  in  the 
Pas  de  Calais,  a  decree  framed  by  the  Ministers  of  the  Interim-  and  of  Public 
Works  has  heen  issued,  ordering  the  closing  of  cafes  and  of  restaurants  at  10 
]i.  m.:  that  of  theaters,  music  halls,  and  cinemas,  at  11  p.  m. 

In  addition,  it  is  decreed  the  .Metropolitan  and  Nbrd-Sud  subway  lines  will 
stop  running  at  11  p.  m. 

The  Xew  York  Herald.  European  edition.  March  10,  l(.)-_><>.  stated: 

All  the  French  railway  lines  have  been  instructed  to  suppress  a  certain  num- 
ber of  passenger  trains.    The  suburban  and  workmen's  trains  ami  all  the  great 

international    trains  are   to   run    as    usual,   bu1    the  express   and    ordinary   train 
services  are  to  he  reduced  about  one-third. 

The  London  Times.  March  11.  1920,  stated : 

In  the  Pas  de  Calais  Department  ."..".,1)1)11  miners  are  now  out   mi  strike.  Put    no 

instance  of  disorder  has  occurred.    The  effect  of  the  strike  upon  the  northeastern 


28  American     Military    Dead    Overseas 


Provinces,  which  arayet  recovering  from  war  devastation,  are  very  serious;  that 
is  especially  the  case  at  Lille. 

Numerous  factories  have  had  to  close  down,  including  the  glass  works  at 
Valenciennes  and  Aniche.  The  surface  coal  stocks  of  the  mines  are  completely 
finished,  and  shortly,  it  is  stated,  all  remaining  stocks  at  the  factories  will  also 
have  been  used  up. 

The  Chicago  Tribune.  European  edition,  March  16,  1920,  stated: 

Faced  by  a  miners'  strike  in  the  great  basin  of  the  north,  which  has  already 
brought  out  more  than  100,000  men.  according  to  latest  estimates,  France  is 
preparing  for  the  possibility  of  further  restrictions  on  transports,  heat,  light, 
and  so  on,  similar  to  those  now  in  force. 

Already  not  a  mine  in  the  great  coal  fields  around  Lille  is  working  and  the 
effect  upon  the  many  industries  in  that  region  which  depend  upon  its  coal  is 
serious.     The  cold  weather  has  caused  much  suffering  to  individuals. 

Montmartre  restaurants  and  cafes  are  on  strike  because  of  the  early  closing. 

The  proprietors  assert  that  the  early  closing  bill  which  compels  them  to  close 
at   Kt  p.  m.  meant  ruin. 

The  Paris  Temps,  March  11,  1920,  stated: 

The  miners'  strike  has  provoked  the  reestablishment  of  certain  restrictions. 
A  prescription  of  the  Prefet  de  Police  has  fixed,  for  Paris,  the  details  of 
a] (plication  of  the  decree. 

All  establishments  open  to  the  public  will  close  at  10  p.  m.,  except  theaters 
and  moving-picture  shows,  which  will  be  allowed  to  continue  their  performance 
until  11   p.  m..  from  March  12  on. 

From  March  15  the  last  train  starting  from  the  terminus  stations  on  the 
Metropolitan  north  and  south  lines,  tramways,  and  autobus  will  leave  the 
terminus  at  11.30  p.   m. 

The  restrictions  will  also  concern  railroads.  The  Minister  of  Railroads  has 
made  the  following  declaration.  The  main  points  of  the  project  can  be  sum- 
marized as  follows : 

Maintenance  of  all  suburban  trains  and  workmen  trains,  as  well  as  all  inter- 
national trains,  hut  variable  reductions,  according  to  the  needs  of  the  different 
railroads,  of  about  one-third  of  the  total  of  express  and  local  trains. 

The  New  York  Herald,  European  edition,  March  16,  1920.  stated : 

In  point  of  fact,  additional  restrictions  in  the  use  of  coal  are  not  likely  to 
cause  much  of  an  upheaval  in  the  normal  life — such  as  it  is  these  days — of 
Parisians.  Already  theaters,  restaurants,  cafes,  dance  halls,  and  subway 
system  are  closing  up.  or  down,  early,  and  the  streets  are  poorly  lighted.  And 
coal,  moreover,  is  difficult  to  get  anyway. 

First,  the  crisis  in  production  caused  a  coal  restriction,  then  the  strikes 
in  the  Nord  and  the  Pas-de-Calais,  then  the  shortage  of  means  of  transport, 
then  the  railway  strike  and  its  aftermath,  a  congestion  of  cars  on  tracks 
everywhere  in  France. 

The  American  representatives  negotiated  constantly  with  the 
French  officials  in  an  effort  to  minimize  or  obviate  the  difficulties 
existing-  in  the  various  objections  cited,  and  reached  a  tentative 
agreement. 

Prior  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  council  of  ministers  conferences 
were  held  between  the  American  commissioners  and  the  Minister  of 


FLOW  OF  RAIL  TRANSPORTATION  TO    FRENCH    BASE   PORTS 


29 


30  American     Military     Dead    Overseas 

Hygiene;  and  on  April  1  a  second  meeting  with  French  hygienists 
was  hold  at  the  American  headquarters. 

The  French  cabinet,  meeting  on  April  2,  again  took  the  matter 
under  consideration  and  instructed  the  president  of  the  commission  to 
indicate  the  willingness  of  his  Government  to  adopt  the  terms  of  the 
agreement  reached  by  the  commissioners,  with  the  exception  that  the 
actual  removals  from  the  zone  of  operations  might  not  begin  prior  to 
September  15,  1920. 

The  terms  of  this  agreement  are  as  follows : 

Pursuant  to  the  agreement  proposed  by  the  French  Foreign  Office  to  the  Amer- 
ican Department  of  State  in  August.  1918,  and  thereafter  ratified  by  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  the  French  Republic  recognizes  and  adheres  to  the  principle 
that  the  Federal  Government  may  exhume  and  transport  to  the  United  States 
the  remains  of  American  soldiers,  sailors,  marines,  and  associated  personnel 
now  interred  in  the  French  "zone  of  military  operations,"  as  defined  in  the  pro- 
visional instruction  of  the  President  of  the  Council,  published  in  the  Journal 
Officiel  of  June  19,  1919. 

Actual  transportation  of  remains  by  the  American  Graves  Registration  Service 
from  the  zone  of  operations  under  this  agreement  may  begin  at  any  time  after 
September  15,  1920. 

The  Federal  Government,  under  the  terms  of  the  present  agreement,  will 
limit  the  return  of  bodies  to  those  whose  removal  to  America  is  requested 
specifically  by  their  next  of  kin. 

The  Graves  Registration  Service,  through  the  observance  of  stringent  hygienic 
precautions,  agrees  to  insure  the  prevention  of  epidemic  from  the  conduct  of 
its  operations.  A  detailed  statement  of  sanitary  safeguards  will  be  transmitted 
to  the  Service  de  l'Etat  Civil  et  des  Sepultures  Militaires,  and,  at  the  option  of 
the  latter  organization,  a  French  hygienic  officer  may  be  associated  with  the 
Graves  Registration  Service  in  all  of  its  operations. 

In  agreement  with  the  Ministry  of  Transportation,  the  American  Graves  Regis- 
tration Service  will  undertake  so  to  locate  the  points  of  concentrating  bodies  for 
shipment  to  ports  as  to  require  a  minimum  of  construction  or  rearrangement  of 
railroad  facilities. 

The  Ministry  of  Transportation,  on  the  request  of  the  Graves  Registration 
Service,  will  allocate  upon  a  rental  basis  an  amount  of  rail  transportation  suffi- 
cient for  the  actual  necessities  of  the  latter  after  September  15.  The  Graves 
Registration  Service,  on  its  part,  will  undertake  to  limit  its  rail  transport 
requirements  to  French  ports  under  this  agreement  to  such  a  minimum  as  may 
be  necessary  under  most  economical  conditions  of  utilization,  not  exceeding  a 
maximum  of  100  standard  box  cars  in  use  at  any  given  time. 

The  regulations  relative  to  concentration  and  regrouping  of  bodies  in  the 
"zone  of  military  operations"  as  published  in  the  Journal  Officiel  of  June  19, 
1919,  are  not  altered  by  this  agreement. 

The  Secretary  of  War  on  April  24  advised  the  Secretary  of  State 
that  this  agreement  was  acceptable  to  the  War  Department,  and  two 
days  later  the  State  Department  cabled  the  ambassador  at  Paris  to 
advise  the  French  Government  that  the  United  States  would  adhere 
to  the  proposal  as  drawn. 

The  work  of  the  American  commission  being  now  completed.  I 
recommend  that  it  be  dissolved. 


American     Military    Dead    Overseas  31 


V.  CARING  FOR  THE  GRAVES  OF  THE  FALLEN. 

In  describing  the  operations  of  late  April.  L918,  the  Commander  in 

Chief  of  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces  wrote: 

On  April  20,  Lieut.  McCormicb  and  Ins  group  arrived  at  Mandres  and  began 
their  work  under  heavy  shell  fire  and  gas;  and  although  troops  were  in  dugouts, 
these  men  immediately  went  to  the  cemetery  and  in  order  to  preserve  records 
and  locations  repaired  and  creeled  new  cresses  as  fasl  as  the  old  ones  were 
blown  down.  They  also  completed  the  extension  to  the  cemetery,  this  work  oc- 
cupying a  period  of  one  ami  one-half  hours,  during  winch  time  shells  were  falling 
continuously  and  they  were  subjected  to  mustard  gas.  They  gathered  many 
bodies  which  had  been  first  in  the  hands  of  the  Germans  and  were  later  retaken 
by  American  counterattacks.  Identification  was  especially  difficult,  all  papers 
and  tags  having  been  removed  and  most  of  the  bodies  being  in  a  terrible  condition 
and  beyond  recognition. 

The  work  so  cited  by  Gen.  Pershing  was  that  of  advance  group 
No.  1,  Graves  Registration  Service.  The  organization  of  this  service 
was  authorized  in  the  office  of  the  Quartermaster  General  by  the  War 
Department  in  August,  1917.  A  dozen  units,  each  consisting  of  2 
officers  and  50  men,  were  organized  in  the  United  States  and  sent 
overseas.  In  the  A.  E.  F.  five  similar  units  of  approximately  equal 
strength  had  been  organized.  These  two  groups,  as  well  as  the  Red 
Cross  section  for  photographing  individual  graves,  were  consolidated 
in  February.  1918,  by  order  of  General  Headquarters  American  Ex- 
peditionary Forces.  The  Graves  Registration  Service  remained  the 
name  of  the  combined  organization. 

Since  the  armistice,  except  for  a  brief  period,  all  the  work  of  cen- 
tralizing remains  has  been  under  the  control  of  the  Graves  Registra- 
tion Service.  This  service  and  the  cemeterial  branch  were  combined 
recently  in  the  office  of  the  Quartermaster  General,  the  consolidated 
organization  being  called  the  Cemeterial  Division.  The  overseas 
organization,  subordinate  to  the  Cemeterial  Division  but  given  large 
discretion  in  operation,  continues  to  be  called  the  American  Graves 
Registration  Service.  Quartermaster  Corps,  in  Europe. 

The  initial  burials  among  combat  troops  were  made  by  the  units 
themselves,  not  by  the  Graves  Registration  Service.  The  latter  or- 
ganization, however,  followed  the  advancing  battle  line  in  order  to 
complete  or  remake  hasty  burials,  to  procure  identifications,  ami. 
where  necessary,  to  improve  the  locations  of  burial   place's. 

Its  general  duties  were  the  acquisition  of  land  for  cemeteries,  the 
arrangement  and  control  of  these  cemeteries,  and  the  registration  of 
ail  American  graves  wherever  found. 

A  detailed  examination  of  the  overseas  operations  probably  would 
indicate  that  the  supply  of  personnel  from  America  proceeded  with 
disproportionate  rapidity,  compared   with  the  supply  of  the   data 


32  American     Military    Dead    Overseas 

and  materials  necessary  for  the  beginning  of  field  operations.  The 
difficulties  and  delay  encountered  in  the  manufacture  and  transport 
of  supplies,  particularly  coffins:  the  clerical  work  of  canvassing  all 
relatives  as  to  their  desires  concerning  the  remains  of  their  kinsmen 
(which  had  to  be  completed  before  disinterments  could  begin  but 
which  could  be  started  only  a  short  time  in  advance  of  exhumations, 
in  order  to  minimize  the  number  of  removals  of  families,  deaths  of 
relatives,  and  other  occurrences  likely  to  impair  the  accuracy  of  the 
data  collected)  :  the  complicated  procedure  necessary  in  some  places 
for  securing  the  permission  of  local  authorities  for  the  initial  dis- 
interments; and  the  lack  of  any  previous  experience  on  which  a 
forecast  of  personnel  and  supplies  could  be  confidently  based — these 
are  among:  the  considerations  which  prevented  the  immediate  utili- 
zation of  all  personnel  as  quickly  as  it  reached  France  and  England. 
The  difficulties  mentioned,  however,  are  now  wholly  or  substantially 
obviated. 

The  first  main  divisions  of  the  overseas  organization  are  those  of 
zones — the  zones  of  France,  of  Great  Britain,  and  of  mid-Europe. 
These  zones  are  further  subdivided  into  sections,  five  in  France, 
three  in  Great  Britain,  etc.  Each  section  has  its  shipping  port  and 
each  port,  while  in  use,  a  port  commander.  Actual  field  work  is 
performed  by  mobile  operating  units,  consisting  of  embalmers,  tech- 
nical assistants,  and  laborers,  supervised  by  inspectors  and  respon- 
sible in  the  first  instance  to  the  section  commanders. 

Stringent  regulations  are  in  effect  to  prevent  confusion  of  identity 
during  disinterments  and  transportation.  The  actual  carrying  of 
remains  across  the  ocean  and  through  the  United  States  by  rail  to 
the  home  is  in  charge  of  the  Army  Transportation  Service.  But 
during  the  ocean  voyage  a  convoyer  of  the  Graves  Registration  Serv- 
ice remains  with  the  bodies,  and  at  Hoboken  a  branch  office  of  the 
same  service  checks  all  incoming  remains. 

The  first  bodies  returning  from  France  will  be  those,  in  the  main, 
lying  within  a  radius  of  100  miles  from  the  base  ports.  This  is  for 
the  reason  that  satisfactory  or  even  tolerable  freight  service  on  the 
railroads  of  France  is  quite  impossible  to  secure,  owing  to  the  acute 
fuel  crisis.  The  decrease  in  French  coal  production  by  the  flooding 
of  mines  during  the  enemy's  occupation,  the  strikes  during  the  spring 
in  the  Departments  of  the  Nord  and  Pas-de-Calais,  and  the  failure 
of  German  deliveries  to  reach  nearly  the  amounts  expected,  leave  the 
country  in  a  dangerous  situation. 

Though  practically  all  the  automobiles  of  the  American  Expedi- 
tionary Forces  were  included  in  the  bulk  sale  to  the  French  Govern- 
ment (and  the  available  remainder  were  in  use  by  the  forces  in  Ger- 
many or  tied  up  by  legal  proceedings),  the  War  Department  met  the 


BRITISH    BURIAL   PLACES   FROM    WHICH   ALL  AMERICAN    DEAD  TO   BE   RETURNED 
TO  THE  UNITED  STATES   HAVE   BEEN   EVACUATED 


33 


34  American    Military    Dead    Overseas 

rail  transport  shortage  by  shipping  into  France  a  considerable 
amount  of  automotive  transports,  which,  within  the  area  of  its  effec- 
tive operation,  will  make  the  Graves  Registration  Service  independent 
of  railway  limitations. 

Until  now  (May  1)  all  bodies  shipped  from  France  have  proceeded 
through  the  port  of  Brest.  Eventually,  though  perhaps  not  simul- 
taneously, shipments  will  be  made  also  through  the  ports  of  St. 
Nazaire,  Le  Havre,  or  Cherbourg,  Marseilles,  Bordeaux,  and  La 
Rochelle.  St.  Nazaire  will  accommodate  the  largest  number,  and 
the  shipments  from  the  other  ports  will  vary  in  the  order  named. 

Shipments  from  England  have  gone  through  Southampton.  Later, 
use  probably  will  be  made  of  Liverpool.  Bodies  from  Germany  are 
likely  to  be  evacuated  through  Antwerp,  beginning  in  late  May,  as- 
suming that  transport  arrangements  are  completed  with  the  Belgian 
authorities. 

The  correspondent  of  the  Stamford  and  Rutland  News,  after  the 
first  field  operations  of  the  Graves  Registration  Service  in  the  south 
of  England,  described  his  impressions  as  follows: 

The  work  was  carried  out  in  a  most  reverent  manner  by  a  special  party  of 
American  men.  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States  military  authorities, 
who  were  represented  by  officers. 

That  portion  of  God's  Acre  where  the  interments  took  place  (during  1918) 
was  screened  off  from  the  public  view,  and  the  public  were  not  admitted  to 
the  cemetery  while  the  operations  were  in  progress. 

Each  coffin  was  raised  from  its  resting  place  by  means  of  ropes.  Then 
the  lid  was  taken  off.  and  the  corpse,  after  being  disinfected,  was  carefully 
wrapped  in  a  khaki  sheet  and  lifted  into  a  zinc  and  copper  lined  shell. 

A  disk  bearing  the  name  of  the  departed  soldier  was  pinned  to  the  sheet,  and 
the  whole  was  draped  with  white  material. 

A  domed  metal  lid  was  then  placed  on  the  shell  and  hermetically  sealed  down. 

Each  shell  was  afterwards  inclosed  in  a  beautiful  polished  walnut  coffin,  which 
was  placed  in  a  stout  wooden  packing  case  ready  for  transshipment. 

A  large  motor  lorry  stood  on  the  drive  close  at  hand,  and  into  this  each  case 
was  lifted  and  the  vehicle  then  left  direct  for  Southampton,  from  which  port 
the  coffins  are  being  shipped.  On  arrival  the  coffins  will  be  ready  for  immediate 
reburial. 

Actual  disinterments  were  begun  in  England  on  February  3,  1920, 
and  in  the  French  "  zone  of  the  interior  "  on  March  29,  1920.  The 
securing  of  supplies  and  of  authorizations  for  disinterment  has  pro- 
ceeded less  rapidly  than  was  anticipated :  but  the  first  difficulty  is 
being  vigorously  attacked  and  the  second  has  been  eliminated.  The 
actual  disinterments  have  been  made  at  a  considerably  greater  rate 
of  speed  than  was  originally  estimated. 

While  shipments  to  the  United  States  are  being  made  of  those 
bodies  requested  from  the  French  "  zone  of  the  interior,"  those  not  re- 
quested are  being  left  in  the  cemeteries  where  they  are  now  located, 


American     Military    Dead    Overseas  35 

until  the  westward  movement  has  been  completed,  and  until  the  per- 
manent Fields  of  Honor  have  been  designated. 

VI.  THE  FIELDS  OF  HONOR. 

Death  is  no  more  a  respecter  of  places  than  of  persons.  When 
the  conclusion  of  the  armistice  gave  pause  to  armies  which  for  four 
months  had  subordinated  everything  to  the  relentless  prosecution  of 
a  crushing  offensive  movement,  the  bodies  of  American  dead  were 
to  be  found — at  the  front  and  in  the  rear — in  nearly  2,000  separate 
locations, 

Naturally  there  has  been  some  apprehension  among  relatives  in 
America  when  word  readied  them  during  the  succeeding  months  that 
the  bodies  of  their  loved  ones  had  been  removed  from  the  place  of 
initial  interment.  There  exists  among  bereaved  families  an  aver- 
sion to  the  unnecessary  disturbance  of  remains,  and  from  many  quar- 
ters inquiries  came  asking  the  reasons  for  these  transfers. 

An  inspection  of  the  old  battle  area  makes  the  reply — in  so  far  as 
the  "zone  of  operations"  is  concerned — reasonably  clear. 

Battle  burials,  unhappily,  were  made  often  under  conditions  un- 
avoidably terrible.  In  order  to  secure  some  degree  of  shelter  from 
shell-fire,  temporary  burial  grounds  in  many  instances  were  located 
in  low-lying  regions.  These  places  were  subject  to  constant  inunda- 
tion, which  made  highly  desirable  the  removal  of  American  dead  to 
more  suitable  locations. 

Much  of  the  operation  of  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces  oc- 
curred in  places  ordinarily  isolated  and  inaccessible,  such  as  portions 
of  the  Argonne  forest.  The  initial  burials  were  made  of  necessity 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  place  where  death  occurred.  But 
once  the  fighting  had  ceased  it  would  have  been  unfortunate  to  leave 
these  graves  isolated  and  unapproachable,  in  wild  and  remote  regions. 

Perhaps  a  major  portion  of  burials  at  the  front  were  made  in  what 
had  been  cultivated  plots  and  in  areas  which  now  again  are  being 
used  for  agriculture.  Obviously  it  would  have  been  unwise  to  permit 
these  remains  to  lie  uncollected,  casually  scattered  among  the  fields 
and  farmyards  of  France. 

Every  battered  shell  of  a  village  along  the  battle  line  constituted 
a  headquarters  for  some  combat  organization,  and  afforded  a  degree 
of  shelter  for  some  military  unit.  The  burials  from  that  unit  had  to 
be  made  amid  the  ruins  of  the  town:  and  the  rebuilding  of  it  often- 
times makes  necessary  now  the  transfer  of  graves  that  otherwise 
might  lie  beside  a  street  or  in  a  market  place. 

In  addition,  grouped  graves  permit  of  care  and  attention  being 
bestowed  upon  them  which  would  be  quite  impracticable  were  they 
left  in  the  far  separated  spots  where  they  happened  first  to  be. 


36  American    Military    Dead    Overseas 

So  our  military  remains  were  concentrated  into  a  relatively  small 
number  of  cemeteries  which  might  be  properly  ornamented  and  cared 
for  as  the  temporary  or  permanent  resting  places  of  American  soldier 
dead.  The  original  1,700  locations  are  reduced  now  to  less  than  (500, 
ranging  downward  from  Romagne,  with  its  22,000  crosses,  to  village 
plots  with  few  or  even  a  single  body.  But  these  last  are  few;  it  is 
practically  impossible  now  to  find  an  isolated  American  grave  in 
France. 

Approximately  88  per  cent  of  our  dead  in  France  rest  in  American 
burial  places:  about  9  per  cent  are  in  French  cemeteries,  and  the 
remainder  are  in  British  and  German  plots. 

The  American  Legion  has  urged  that  permanent  fields  be  located 
for  those  whose  return  from  France  is  not  requested.  The  Field  of 
Honor  Association  is  organized  in  furtherance  of  the  same  object. 
Through  Marshal  Petain  the  Republic  of  France  long  since  offered 
to  provide  the  necessary  cemeterial  sites.  Moreover,  thousands  of 
parents  have  requested  the  War  Department  to  permit  their  deceased 
children  to  remain  in  France. 

For  the  accommodation  of  those  bodies,  therefore,  which  will  rest 
forever  overseas,  I  recommend  the  retention  of  the  following  three 
cemeteries : 

Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Department  of  the  Meuse. 

Belleau  Wood,  Department  of  the  Aisne. 

Suresnes,  Department  of  the  Seine. 

There  remain  upward  of  500  locations  where  American  dead  are 
buried.  It  is  clearly  desirable  to  reduce  to  the  lowest  possible  number 
the  places  permanently  held.  In  a  number  of  instances,  requests  have 
reached  the  War  Department  from  Army  units,  requesting  that 
cemeteries  be  retained  at  points  where  those  units  had  rendered  dis- 
tinguished service.  Any  general  policy  of  establishing  divisional 
cemeteries,  or  of  placing  permanent  battle  cemeteries  at  the  various 
points  where  brilliant  or  sanguinary  engagements  occurred,  would  so 
scatter  our  dead  and  multiply  our  burial  places,  as  to  lessen  the  hn- 
pressiveness  of  a  few  large  fields  of  honor,  would  increase  the  prob- 
lems of  administration,  and  Avould  decrease  the  possibilities  of  orna- 
mentation by  parceling  out  among  many  points  the  sum  total  avail- 
able for  expenditure.  If,  for  example,  there  is  one  American  ceme- 
tery at  the  front,  it  will  be  possible  to  provide  hostess  houses,  to  erect 
permanent  buildings  and  to  arrange  landscape  effects,  that  would  not 
be  possible  on  an  equal  scale  at  each  of  four  or  five  American  ceme- 
teries along  the  battle  line. 

But  in  one  case  particularly — that  of  the  27th  and  30th  Divisions — 
a  deep  and  natural  sentiment  attaches  to  the  fact  that  practically  all 
the  work  of  those  divisions  was  done  in  conjunction  with  the  British 


38  American    Military    Dead    Overseas 


Army.  I  should  scarcely  wish  to  recommend  on  that  account  that  the 
dead  from  those  organizations  be  not  brought  into  the  central  burial 
place  of  their  fellow  countrymen,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  at  Bony  or 
elsewhere,  a  fitting  memorial  design  may  commemorate  the  distinctive 
service  of  the  2d  Corps  with  the  British  forces. 

The  construction  of  semi-permanent  works  at  some  of  our  present 
burial  plots — indeed  the  very  existence  of  those  plots  as  established 
locations — prevents  the  mere  choosing  of  theoretically  ideal  localities 
upon  a  map.  In  view  of  all  the  circumstances  and  after  having 
visited  practically  every  site  which  has  been  suggested  for  retention, 
I  am  of  the  belief  that  our  securing  the  three  locations  named  above 
would  constitute  the  most  desirable  arrangement  for  the  fitting  care 
of  our  dead  in  France. 

Nestling  beneath  the  massive  gray  walls  of  Fort  Valerien  and 
with  the  winding  valley  of  the  Seine  beneath  it,  Suresnes  Cemetery 
is  picturesquely  located  in  the  village  of  the  same  name  on  the  out- 
skirts of  Paris.  Flanking  it  on  three  sides  is  the  beautiful  Wash- 
ington Boulevard.  At  either  end  of  the  present  reservation,  addi- 
tional parcels  of  land  are  being  secured  so  that  (in  addition  to  the 
enlargement  of  the  area)  there  will  be  no  possibility  of  commercial 
encroachment.  More  than  1,000  bodies  are  now  at  Suresnes  and 
there  will  be  a  maximum  capacity  of  nearly  5,000.  Its  location 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  capital  solves  the  questions  of  transporta- 
tion and  hotel  accommodations.  Sentimentally,  it  is  a  splendid  lo- 
cation for  a  lasting  and  solemn  memorial  of  Franco-American  mili- 
tary cooperation. 

Deep  in  the  consciousness  of  Americans  everywhere  are  the  neigh- 
boring localities  of  Chateau-Thierry  and  Belleau  Woods.  These 
spots  to  us  are  symbols  which  serve  to  dramatize  the  final  crushing 
of  the  German  offensive  on  the  banks  of  the  Marne  and  the  develop- 
ment of  that  smashing  allied  attack  in  midsummer  of  1918  which, 
before  the  ending  of  the  year,  was  to  beat  imperious  armies  into 
bitter  submission.  Americans  in  France  will  go  as  a  matter  of  course 
to  the  fields  nearest  Paris  where  our  troops  so  distinguished  them- 
selves. It  was  at  Belleau  that  Marine  forces,  temporarily  detached 
from  the  Navy  and  attached  to  the  Second  Division,  were  so  heavily 
and  heroically  engaged,  together  with  the  other  divisional  elements,  in 
June  of  1918..  It  is  particularly  fitting  that  the  War  Department 
should  retain  this  burial  place,  so  firmly  held  in  the  affections  and 
so  baptized  by  the  blood  of  the  Army's  sister  service.  The  trip  from 
Paris  is  made  easily  in  a  day  by  automobile  or  train,  and  ample  hotel 
accommodations  are  available  in  Chateau-Thierry,  a  few  miles  from 
Belleau.  At  the  cemetery,  which  now  contains  about  2,000  bodies,  a 
small  cottage  has  been  erected  by  the  Red  Cross  and  is  operated  by  two 


39 


American     Military    Dead    Overseas 


41 


Y.  W.  C.  A.  workers.  A  Red  Cross  automobile  supplies  local  trans- 
portation. 

When  in  late  September  from  all  the  region  about  the  Meuse  and 
the  Forest  of  Argonne  a  khaki  host  went  forward  to  the  attack 
which  was  to  end  only  on  the  eve  of  the  armistice,  when  every  roadside 
sign  was  labeled  "  Nach  Sedan,"  the  dominating  position  of  the 
enemy — as  Montsec  had  been  at  St.  Mihiel — was  the  great  hulk  of 
Montfaucon.  Not  far  away  was  the  modest  village  of  Romagne  sous 
Montfaucon.  Now,  on  a  gentle  slope  beside  the  gaunt  ruins  of  the 
little  town,  22,000  crosses  mark  the  places  of  nearly  half  our  dead 
in  the  zone  of  the  armies.  They  lie  in  ground  they  themselves  wrested 
from  the  enemy  in  the  last  month  of  righting. 

Transportation  facilities  to  Romagne  are  still  inadequate  and 
there  are  no  commercial  hotel  accommodations  in  the  immediate 
vicinity.  But  a  combination  of  Army  barracks,  Red  Cross  equip- 
ment, and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  personnel  has  resulted  in  the  establishment 
of  a  comfortable  hostess  house,  simple  and  unpretentious,  but  ade- 
quately able  to  supply  food  and  lodging  at  nominal  cost  to  parents 
visiting  the  cemetery.  Two  Red  Cross  automobiles  are  kept  there 
and  meet  the  trains  each  day  at  Dun-sur-Meuse,  the  nearest  railroad 
station. 

The  area  actually  occupied  by  graves  at  Romagne  is  approximately 
259  by  811  meters.  The  entire  tract,  inclusive  of  the  grave  plot, 
originally  desired  for  American  control,  measures  690  by  899  meters. 
In  all  probability  the  size  of  the  cemetery  itself  will  not  increase — the 
number  of  bodies  removed  to  America  will  be  larger  than  the  num- 
ber to  be  moved  into  Romagne.  Nevertheless,  I  recommend,  pend- 
ing more  definite  developements  as  to  the  amount  and  design  of 
buildings  and  landscaping  involved  in  the  Romagne  project,  that 
the  War  Department  should  not  decrease  the  area  intended  to  be  in- 
cluded within  the  reservation,  but  should  proceed  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  larger  tract. 

A  large  amount  of  work  has  been  done  at  Romagne  in  the  erection 
of  barracks,  the  construction  of  walls  and  fences,  the  sowing  of  grass, 
the  laying  of  gravel,  the  planting  of  flowers,  and  the  installation  of 
artificial  drainage.  Being  five  times  the  size  of  any  other  American 
cemetery  in  France,  the  work  of  construction  and  upkeep  has  pro- 
ceeded on  a  scale  correspondingly  greater  than  at  other  points.  The 
remoteness  of  Romagne  from  French  centers  of  population  is  not  a 
sufficient  deterrent  to  its  retention.  Railroad  connection  probably 
will  be  made  with  Dun.  a  few  miles  to  the  east  :  and  at  the  cemetery 
relatives  will  find  ample,  if  simple,  living  accommodations.  Indeed 
a  location  of  relative  seclusion  would  be  preferred  by  many  persons 
as  more  befitting  a   city   of  the   dead   than   a    place   near  the   much 


42  American     Military     Deaa1    Overseas 

traveled  paths  of  casual  passers-by.  The  Americans  who  will  have  an 
interest  in  the  white  field  at  Romagne  will  have  an  interest  also  in 
the  terrain  round  about,  for  which  the  men  whose  remains  are  there 
paid  the  full  measure  of  devotion.  Verdun.  Montfaucon,  Grandpre, 
Sedan — these  will  have  their  place  for  all  the  years  in  the  history 
texts  of  unborn  generations.  And  those  relatives  and  friends  who 
will  have  occasion  to  visit  the  Field  of  Honor  will  wish  no  less  to  visit 
these  other  fields  of  honor  which  witnessed  the  last  advance  of  the 
gallant  ranks  whose  tents  are  spread  on  fame's  eternal  camping 
ground. 

VII.  A  WAR  MEMORIALS  COUNCIL. 

The  parents  and  the  families  of  those  soldiers  who  will  remain 
always  overseas  can  have  no  concern  more  near  their  hearts  than  the 
care  and  ornamentation  of  God's  acre.  But  also  among  citizens, 
generally — among  those  whose  family  circles  have  not  been  touched 
by  death  in  war — one  need  not  go  farther  than  the  correspondence 
columns  of  newspapers,  or  the  chance  conversations  of  Pullman  cars, 
to  learn  the  universal  and  reverential  interest  that  prevails  with  re- 
spect to  the  graves  of  the  fallen. 

In  order  that  uniformity  and  perpetuity  of  attention  may  be  as- 
sured, the  guardianship  over  the  remains  of  those  who  have  "  gone 
west "  must  be  primarily  an  official  responsibility.  But  it  must  not 
be  merely  official.  It  must  not  be  wholly  the  concern  of  any  govern- 
mental bureau  or  department.  It  must  not  become  dehumanized  into 
administrative  routine.  Its  contact  with  the  citizenship  must  be 
preserved  and  in  some  degree  it  must  be  a  people's  work. 

All  that  a  government  can  do  will  seem  incomplete  and  barren 
if  it  be  not  accompanied  by  some  evidence  of  the  tenderness  and  sym- 
pathy and  understanding  that  is  due  from  the  nation  at  large  to 
those  of  its  number  who  did  not  come  out  from  the  valley  of  the 
shadow. 

That  the  War  Department  may  be  assured  of  the  constant  counsel 
and  cooperation  of  representative  citizens  in  the  task  of  arranging 
for  the  permanent  accommodation  of  American  military  dead  abroad, 
I  recommend  that  the  Secretary  of  War  appoint  a  war  memorials 
council  as  an  advisory  commission  on  affairs  concerning  American 
military  cemeteries  overseas  and  such  related  matters  as  may  be 
referred  to  it.  If  such  a  council  be  appointed,  I  suggest  that  it 
include  representation  from  the  National  Fine  Arts  Commission, 
the  American  Institute  of  Architects,  the  American  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation, the  seven  affiliated  welfare  organizations,  the  American 
Legion,  the  Navy  Department,  the  Quartermaster  Corps  (Cemeterial 
Division),  and  the  War  Plans  Division  of  the  General  Staff.     The 


American     Military    Dead    Overseas  43 

French  Commission  for  Military  Graves  includes  officials  from  a 
dozen  governmental  departments,  the  Institute  of  France,  the  Acad- 
emy of  Medicine,  etc.  Great  Britain's  Imperial  War  Graves  Commis- 
sion consists  of  representatives  from  the  cabinet,  delegates  from  the 
dominions,  and  a  number  of  eminent  civilian  and  military  members, 
appointed  by  royal  warrant. 

Within  the  council,  I  suggest  that  there  be  a  committee  on  hostess- 
house  service,  consisting  of  delegates  from  the  welfare  organizations, 
and  a  committee  on  memorial  and  decorative  art. 

To  this  council — preferably  as  small  as  possible — and  its  com- 
mittees, the  War  Department  might  properly  look  for  guidance 
with  respect  to  the  design  of  headstones,  statues,  mausoleums,  etc., 
the  landscaping  of  cemeterial  projects,  and  the  providing  of  living 
accommodations  for  relatives  visiting  burial  places,  as  well  as  for 
the  permanent  personnel  employed  there. 

Within  the  fields  of  honor  I  urge  that  thoroughgoing  uniformity 
should  prevail  in  the  decoration  of  individual  graves.  Headstones 
of  private  design  or  markers  individually  decorative  should  not  mar 
that  equality  to  which  the  final  sacrifice  of  the  deceased  has  made  them 
heir. 

But  the  States,  military  organizations,  veterans"  societies,  welfare 
agencies,  etc..  will  wish  to  commemorate  in  stone  and  metal  the  valor, 
devotion,  and  achievements  of  the  individuals  and  organizations 
they  espouse.  In  such  cases,  within  or  outside  those  cemeteries, 
where  authority  of  the  War  Department  exists,  where  its  advice  is 
asked  or  where  its  influence  may  be  exerted — or  indeed  where  State 
or  local  authorities  may  wish  to  secure  the  guidance  of  experienced 
and  expert  artistic  judgment — the  advice  of  the  council's  committee 
on  memorial  and  decorative  art  should  be  invoked  and  followed.  The 
country  may  thus  be  reasonably  assured  that  the  post-bellum  statues 
and  buildings,  erected  by  Federal  initiative  or  concurrence  will  be  free 
of  inartistic  types  and  unsuitable  designs. 

However  serviceable  the  War  Memorials  Council  may  be  practi- 
cally, it  is  not  less  desirable,  sentimentally.  Xo  mean  honor  would 
come  to  citizens  called  to  membership  on  this  council:  for  it  is  a 
proud  distinction  to  have  a  part  in  the  watch  over  those  whose  life 
went  out  in  the  service  of  the  Republic.  In  years  to  come,  pilgrims 
will  not  pass  by  those  endless  lines  of  markers  without  a  resolve  that 
the  price  they  represent  must  not  have  been  paid  in  vain.  Given  the 
reverential  care  they  deserve,  those  white  rows  id'  headstones  will 
carry  inspiration  and  resolution  to  all  the  generation--  which  will 
visit  the  spots 

Where  sleep  the  brave  who  sank  to  resl 
By  nil  their  country's  wishes  blest. 


44  American    Military    Dead    Overseas 


VIII.  SUMMARY  OF  RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Summarizing  the  suggestions  made  in  these  pages,  I  recommend : 

1.  That  Romagne,  Belleau,  and  Suresnes  be  the  permanent  Ameri- 
can fields  of  honor  in  France. 

2.  That  bodies  not  requested  to  be  returned  from  France  (and,  if 
possible,  other  European  countries)  be  concentrated  in  the  three 
locations  named  above. 

3.  That  the  United  States  acquire  perpetual  rights  for  cemeterial 
purposes  to  a  generous  area  (say,  TOO  by  900  meters)  about  the  Ro- 
magne cemeterial  plot. 

4.  That  the  American  Commission  on  Military  Remains  be  dis- 
solved, by  reason  of  the  completion  of  its  work. 

5.  That  headstones  and  markers  be  rigorously  uniform  and  erected 
by  the  Government,  and  that  in  the  making-  of  permanent  plots  there 
be  no  segregation  into  distinctive  locations  on  the  basis  of  rank. 

6.  That  an  advisory  War  Memorials  Council  be  appointed,  having 
representatives  from  the  several  interested  organizations  and  having 
committees  on  hostess  houses  and  commemorative  art  designs. 

7.  That  the  War  Department  procure  the  advice  of  the  committee 
on  commemorative  art  of  the  War  Memorials  Council  in  matters  con- 
cerning the  design  of  statuary  or  structures  to  be  erected  overseas 
under  the  authority  or  with  the  collaboration  of  the  department,  and 
that  the  cooperation  of  this  committee  be  available  for  those  com- 
munities or  societies  wishing  to  consult  it  concerning  the  form  of  pro- 
posed war  memorials. 


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